The annual calendar is truly a technological marvel.

While it plays second fiddle to the perpetual calendar in the minds of most collectors, the reality is that the construction of this calendar mechanism — which generally requires adjusting only once per year, at the end of February — is equally challenging, and in some cases, requires even more components.

And while Zenith isn’t typically known for its calendar watches — it’s much more renowned for its chronographs — the brand made an interesting detour through the land of complications in the 2010s with the Captain Winsor line. Outfitted with a mechanism developed by famed watchmaker Dr. Ludwig Oechslin, whose technology has featured both in Ulysse Nardin designs as well as in watches from his own brand, Ochs und Junior, the Captain Winsor is an unusual and compelling collection that’s long gone overlooked by collectors. 

This particular Captain Winsor from the late 2010s is housed in a 42mm 18K yellow gold case with a sapphire crystal, a signed crown, dual ‘cushion’ pushers, and a polished bezel. It features a satin silver ‘hobnail’ dial with yellow gold applied indices, a matching ‘dauphine’ handset, day and month apertures at 3 o’clock, a date aperture 6 o’clock, a running seconds totalizer at 9 o’clock, and a 60-minute chronograph totalizer above 6 o’clock. 

Powering this unique annual calendar with its unusual dial configuration is the Oechslin-modified Zenith El Primero Calibre 4054, an automatic movement with a lateral clutch and column wheel for smooth operation. An impressive design that can be viewed via a sapphire caseback, it needs manual adjusting just once a year in February. 

Paired to a signed, brown alligator leather strap with a signed, 18K yellow gold pin buckle, this calendar watch from one of the world’s most renowned chronograph manufacturers is a wildly good value, in addition to an impressive piece of horological engineering.

There aren’t too many timepieces quite like it out there — check it out for yourself!